Two of a kind, p.23
Two of a Kind, page 23
“Don’t forget your electrolytes,” Jack cautioned. This high up, it wasn’t uncommon for people to display mild symptoms of altitude sickness in addition to being short of breath.
She rolled her eyes. “I won’t.” Ripping open a packet, she emptied it into a glass of water and drank the lot. “There. I’ll have another when we get back, and I’ll be better than new. Have you had yours?”
He shook his head. “Will soon.”
Before they left the lodge, she made sure he did.
The hike to Base Camp was a series of short ups and downs over loose rocks. Despite the electrolytes, a thumping had begun behind one of Brooke’s eyes, and the length of time between each step seemed to grow exponentially. Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one in their group with this problem. Together, they made slow progress. Even Jack seemed to have difficulty. But as they ascended the final ridge and Everest Base Camp came into view, her spirit soared.
They’d made it. She and Jack, as a team. A slow smile spread across her face and she managed to pick up the pace as they neared a sign that proclaimed they’d arrived. She was here. She’d done what she and Olivia had dreamed of since they’d been little girls. Reaching out, she ran a gloved finger down the sign, feeling its solidness. Its realness.
“I did it, Livvy. I did it for us.” And for Sarah and Tammy and all of her readers. She turned to Jack, ready to kiss him like crazy, and found him on one knee. All the air in her lungs vacated. “W-what are you doing?”
Unzipping his jacket pocket, he reached inside and drew out a small black box.
Oh, my God. Oh. My. God. Is this actually happening?
Her hand flew to her chest. “Jack?”
He lifted his sunglasses, squinting against the glare, and she did the same so they could look into each other’s eyes. His were dark in his tanned face, and the depth of emotion in them floored her.
“I love you, Brooke,” he said, still on one knee. The ice had to have soaked through the leg of his pants, no matter how waterproof they were supposed to be, but he didn’t react at all. “I’ve had the time of my life on this trip with you. You’re so strong and determined, but fun, too. You make me laugh at myself, and you know that isn’t easy.”
She giggled nervously, but didn’t say anything, afraid he’d stop if she did. With his gorgeous, crinkled eyes, cheeks flushed with cold, and the dab of pink on the end of his nose, he was the most breathtaking sight she’d ever seen. Better, even, than the panoramic views over the Himalayas.
“You’re truly my partner in everything, and I want you by my side for every adventure from here on out.” He sucked in a deep breath, looking a little faint. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she cried, jumping on the spot. “Yes, yes, yes!”
She slipped on ice, and he caught her, sliding an arm around her waist and drawing her close. Around them, people applauded. Apparently they had an audience. She didn’t care. She pressed her chilled lips to his and gave them something to whistle about.
When they broke apart, Jack offered her the box. She peeked inside. The ring was gorgeous. Simple, with a gold band and three diamonds glinting in the center.
“They represent our past, present, and future,” he explained. “Because that’s what you are to me.”
Her heart melted as he eased off her glove and slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you so much, Jack Farrelly. I could never have imagined we’d end up here. You make me so happy.” To her embarrassment, her eyes teared up. She blinked rapidly, before the water froze to her lashes. “I’d be honored to marry you and go on adventures with you until our legs can’t carry us anymore.”
They kissed, and she could have sworn their hearts beat in tandem through all the layers between them. She was on top of the world. It didn’t get better than this.
Thank you for reading Two of a Kind. I hope you enjoyed Brooke and Jack’s romantic adventure. The series continues with Safe in his Arms, where broody Tione meets his match.
Check out the excerpt on the next page or grab the book here.
Safe In His Arms - Excerpt
Tione Kingi bolted upright at the warning bark. Laying his book on the pillow, he extended a tattooed arm to scratch his Chihuahua, Pixie, behind the ear.
“What is it, girl?”
Pixie yapped again, her tiny body vibrating with nerves. She scrambled to her feet and jumped to the floor, landing on light paws. Trevor, a bull mastiff, lifted his massive head to watch her dart toward the cabin door. Bella, the border collie, perked her ears up, and Zee the rescue pup stretched and circled before settling back onto her bed. It seemed that Trevor, Bella, and Zee hadn’t heard anything, but that didn’t mean much. Pixie was the most sensitive, and she reckoned something was out there. Tione sighed, scratched his bearded chin, and slipped from the bed. Chances were that all she’d heard was a possum in the trees but it was worth checking. As Tione yanked his sneakers on, Pixie started to growl.
“Yeah, yeah. Be patient, will you?” he muttered. Maybe she needed to do her business. Wouldn’t be the first time one of them had disturbed him under false pretenses.
Switching on the security light, he opened the door. Pixie shot through the gap like the proverbial rocket and raced down the slope toward the lodge—his place of employment. She vanished from the illuminated patch of garden and into the shadows, barking and snarling like the mata kai kutu—warrior—she believed she was. Something had really set fire to her tail. A flurry of yaps ensued. The kind she made when she’d locked sight on her prey. With a reluctant glance back at his bed, Tione closed the door to keep the warmth inside and then followed her into the dark.
A moment later, he heard something that gave him pause. The squeak of a rusty hinge. There was no way a possum had made that noise.
Someone is out here.
In his backyard. Trying to get into the lodge.
Whoever it was, they had a prime view of him silhouetted against the forest by the security light. The barking continued, and his shoulders stiffened with tension. Moving out of the light, he padded along the strip of lawn between the flower beds. Slowly, his vision adjusted and he could make out a figure at the lodge’s back entrance. The person tried the handle, then paced over to a window and pried at it.
Seriously? Who would want to break into the lodge at Sanctuary? And why?
It didn’t matter. Fact was, they were.
“Oy!” he shouted, hoping to catch them off guard. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The figure jerked around, their face hidden beneath a deep hood. They froze for all of two seconds and then broke into a run. He gave chase, closing the distance quickly. The would-be thief was slower than he’d expected, and moved awkwardly. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of the thief’s jacket. The guy was smaller than he’d seemed from a distance. Perhaps a teenager out for a thrill.
And then the thief took him by surprise. He’d assumed that once caught, he’d see he was outgunned and stop. Maybe cuss for a while. Instead, the kid fought like a fucking hellcat. Small and slight, but no less fierce for it. Arms flew, limbs twisted, and a kick landed solidly in his nuts, but within a matter of seconds, Tione had him pinned to the ground, struggling to break free.
“Let me go,” a voice hissed. “I won’t let you hurt me. I won’t.”
Tione went rigid. That voice. The soft, petite body beneath his. Not a teenage boy.
A woman.
“Bloody hell, I’m not going to hurt you,” he growled, his guilt over manhandling her growing by the second. “Why were you trying to break into the lodge?”
She whimpered. “Break in? I just wanted—” He shifted his weight, and she cried out. Shit, he couldn’t have hurt her that badly. They’d tussled for only a few moments. Was she playing him?
She sniffled. Damn, she was convincing. Real sobs wracked her body as she whispered on repeat, “Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me.”
Disgusted with himself, and with her, he reared up and yanked off her hood before she could retreat. Then his stomach hardened and his mouth dropped open.
“Motherfucker.”
His gaze swept her face, inventorying injuries. Purple cheek, left eye swollen shut, split lip encrusted with blood, a deep wound at her temple that was weeping fluid. Dark smudges ringed her neck and looked an awful lot like impressions from someone’s fingers. Big, male fingers. Like his. But he hadn’t grabbed her by the neck. None of this was his doing. Someone had worked this woman over with as much finesse as a bulldozer.
Her eyes squeezed shut, and even though they weren’t touching, he could feel waves of fear emanating from her. She was terrified. Completely and utterly scared shitless. Jesus, who was she, and what the fuck had happened to her?
He didn’t recognize her. Although to be fair, with her face how it was, he couldn’t be sure. He guessed she might be blonde, but in the dim light, with blood set into her hairline, it was impossible to tell for certain. She scuttled back, drew her knees to her chest and winced, her mouth contorting in pain. His chest constricted. Her injuries must extend beyond her face. Who knew how battered the poor thing was beneath that oversized jacket?
Taking a mental step back, he tried to remain calm. Yeah, she’d been searching for a way into Sanctuary, but he didn’t know it was for a nefarious reason. Fact was, she looked like a woman who desperately needed help. Exactly the type of woman that Kat, his employer, was notorious for taking in.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
* * *
Megan had been so close.
So damn close to escaping Charles. She’d given it her best shot and the bastard’s goons had still managed to track her down. She hadn’t been sure if she could survive another beating, and she couldn’t fight her way out because the guy on top of her was big. Not tall, but stocky and muscular. Worse than that, he’d had angry eyes.
She couldn’t budge him.
Now she was weak. Judging by the pain that stabbed her every time she moved, she’d guess her ribs were broken, and she could barely see out of her swollen eye. She was in worse shape than a hunk of tenderized steak. Closing her eyes, she rested her pounding head on the cold ground. Was this how it all ended for her? In the dirt, miles from home. No one would even know where to look. How long would it take before her family noticed she was missing? She’d quit her job months ago, when she moved in with Charles, so nobody would expect to see her at work in the morning. As for her friends, well, she’d hardly seen them lately.
Tears still burned in the backs of her eyes. Was there any point continuing to plead with the bearded rock of a man hovering above her? She swallowed, her throat aching. It didn’t matter if begging was useless. She had nothing to lose.
She forced her lips to move the way she wanted them to. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Her voice was husky and raw, nothing like usual. She repeated herself. The man’s black brows drew together and he pulled back. Even though every damaged part of her body screamed in protest, she hauled herself out of his reach. If she tried to run again, he’d catch her, but the distance helped her think. She noticed his lips were moving, but with her pulse drumming in her ears, she couldn’t hear a word he said. His dark eyes scanned her face, some of the lines around them easing so they seemed wary rather than angry.
His lips moved again.
“I can’t hear you,” she rasped. Why was he bothering to talk at all? Why hadn’t he thrown her over his shoulder and tossed her in the back of his car? Charles would want her returned immediately, before anyone noticed anything was amiss. His professional future depended upon it. She made an effort to slow her breathing and tune out the furious hammering of blood and adrenaline through her veins.
The man scowled and said with exaggerated patience, “Who are you, and why are you here?”
“You don’t know?”
“If I knew, would I be asking?”
She laughed. Only once, and her ribs paid the price, but it felt good. “You don’t know.”
A statement this time. This man wasn’t here to drag her back to Charles. She’d misunderstood. Now he was looking at her like he suspected she wasn’t right in the head. And who knew, maybe she wasn’t. But she was so wonderfully relieved, she didn’t care if she sounded like she had a screw loose.
“I’ve got no fucking clue who you are,” he said. “I live in a cabin behind the lodge and as far as I can tell, you were trying to break in.”
“You live here? At Sanctuary?” She hadn’t screwed up so badly after all. Maybe she was safe, at least for now. “Do you work here?”
He nodded. Tears streamed down her puffy cheeks, stinging her injured lip. She’d made it. She wasn’t going to be returned unwillingly to Auckland to live out the rest of her life as a captive trophy wife.
She’d done it. She’d escaped.
Turning her gaze heavenward, she stared up at the thousands of twinkling stars interspersed with the twisting ribbons of pink and purple that were the Milky Way. For the first time in months, she was a free woman, beneath a starry sky. The skies in Auckland were never like this. She eased back onto the ground and let all the tension seep from her body.
She was tired.
She was sore.
But goddamn it, she was free.
Something wet nudged the top of her head. The dog’s nose. It had stopped barking, but pranced around her body, sniffing curiously.
“Are, uh, you okay?” the man, who still hadn’t told her his name, asked.
“I am,” she replied, with feeling.
“Looks like you need a doctor.”
“No.” The word flew from her lips before her brain had fully processed it. She got to her feet, cringing at how much it hurt. “No doctors.”
“Okay, okay.” He held his palms up in a gesture of peace.
“Can I—” She swallowed her nerves, and wiped her gritty palms on her thighs. “Can I see Katarina? I’m here to stay at Sanctuary.” Stringing so many words together brought more tears to her eyes, but she powered on. “I’ve heard wonderful things about her, and I wasn’t trying to break in, I promise. I was just checking whether anything was open, or if I’d have to sleep in my car.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “You’d have slept in your car in that condition?”
He scrubbed a hand over his dark beard, then bent and scooped the dog up with one arm. His bicep bulged and a fresh wave of relief overcame her because he had no intention of hurting her with his powerful body, even though he definitely could if he wanted. He must have twenty pounds on Charles, who’d managed to knock her around just fine.
“Fucking hell.” He pinned her with a look. She couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but they were black in the moonlight. “You’re going to be trouble.”
“No I’m not,” she said, shrinking away from him. “Please, take me to see Katarina. I won’t do anything to cause a problem.” She’d promise him almost anything at that point.
“Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll need to wake her up. She’s probably in bed. I’ll dig out the first aid kit, too. Even if you won’t see a doctor, we need to do something about that cut on your forehead.”
She touched a finger to the gash and hissed. With her fight or flight reflex fully engaged for the past hours, she’d forgotten about it. Head wounds bled a lot, so she must look a fright.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “What happened to you?”
She didn’t answer, and he didn’t ask again as he led her to one of the doors she’d tried to open earlier and fished a set of keys from his pockets. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she searched the shadows for movement but didn’t see anything.
She prayed that meant nobody was out there.
* * *
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Love was never part of the plan… Then There Was You…
Sterling Knight understands the value of hard work and financial stability better than anyone. His past certainly taught him that. So he’s determined to prove himself at work by ensuring that his company’s next project—a resort in the small seaside town of Haven Bay—is a huge success. He’s found the perfect piece of land. Now all he has to do is convince the stubborn (and distractingly beautiful) owner to sell.
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Can Katarina and Sterling overcome the pain of their tragic pasts and clear a path to happily ever after?
Download Then There Was You for free to laugh and cry your way to love today!
She’s running for her life. He’s hiding from his past. When the two collide, can they emerge with their hearts intact?
Fleeing from her violent ex, Megan Talbot seeks refuge in the charming beachside town of Haven Bay. The kind-hearted locals are happy to help her recuperate without interfering—all except brooding, tattooed Tione, the cook at the B&B where she’s staying. He’s made it clear he thinks she’s trouble, but despite his distrust, she can’t seem to stay away from him. After all, who could resist a bearded hulk whose life is dictated by his four rescue dogs?
